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Tracking heat and time in the Grenville Orogen through rutile

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  • Rutile U–Pb dating reveals three distinct cooling events (ca. 1158, 1069–1056, and 936–910 Ma) in a Grenville anorthosite complex, highlighting episodic magmatic emplacement.
  • Zirconium-in-rutile temperatures trace higher apparent temperatures (> 800 °C) in earlier events, capturing a complex crustal thermal evolution.
  • Findings support a lithospheric architecture enabling bottom-up magma ascent and top-down hydrothermal fluid flow.

Liebmann, J., Barham, M. & Kirkland, C.L. (2023). Rutile ages and thermometry along a Grenville anorthosite pathway. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 24, e2022GC010330. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GC010330.

Geochemistry
Geochronology

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Mineral Geochronology
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Mineral Trace Element Analysis
Petrochronology
Petrochronology
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U–Pb Geochronology

Safeguarding Coastal Aquifers: Understanding freshwater–seawater exchange

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  • Groundwater discharge into the oceans is vast but difficult to quantify due to complex density and recirculation effects.
  • Seawater intrusion depends on vertical and lateral hydraulic connectivity near shorelines, not simply average aquifer properties or groundwater throughflow.
  • Simple analytical models and uncorrected water levels can provide a misleading representation of seawater intrusion; correct groundwater pressure measurements and near‑shore hydraulic properties allow credible, decision‑grade estimates.

Costall, A.R., Harris, B.D., Teo, B., Schaa, R., Wagner, F.M. & Pigois, J.P. (2020). Groundwater throughflow and seawater intrusion in high quality coastal aquifers. Scientific Reports, 10, 9866. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66516-6.

Environmental Geoscience

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Multi-hazards Risk Assessment
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Cosmogenic krypton in zircon reveals million-year sediment journeys and landscape stability

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  • Cosmogenic krypton measured in detrital zircon records million-year near-surface residence times, extending landscape evolution analysis far beyond conventional cosmogenic dating limits.
  • Southern Australia’s Eocene hinterland experienced exceptionally low long-term denudation, indicating tectonically stable landscapes with prolonged sediment storage and recycling.
  • Shifts from mature to less mature heavy mineral sands track changes in uplift and sea level, linking sediment quality directly to landscape dynamics and transport efficiency.

Dröllner, M., Barham, M., Kirkland, C. L., Scharf, T., Niemeyer, S. & Dunai, T. J. (2026). Ancient landscape evolution tracked through cosmogenic krypton in detrital zircon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 123(3), e2516058122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2516058122

Geochronology
Regolith and Sedimentology
Resource Geoscience

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U–Pb Geochronology
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Isotopic Fingerprinting
Isotopic Fingerprinting

From Space to Street: Satellite solutions for smarter, cooler cities

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  • Satellite-derived land surface temperature now reaches up to 10 m spatial and 15 min temporal resolution using open-access data.
  • Combining open satellite data enables daily, high-detail thermal mapping to support energy, health, and planning.
  • Machine learning and regression-based methods enhance urban heat detection across complex cityscapes.

Andriambololonaharisoamalala, R., Helmholz, P., Ivanová, I., Jones, E., Soon, S., Bulatov, D. & Song, Y. (2025). Enhancing the spatial and temporal resolution of satellite-derived land surface temperature in urban environments: A systematic literature review. Urban Climate, 60, 102345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2025.102345.

Geoinformatics and Geocomputing

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Multi-hazards Risk Assessment
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Lead Isotopes: A practical gauge for melt depth and crustal thickness

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  • Lead isotope signatures separate lower crustal sources, depleted in uranium and thorium, from upper crustal sources—largely independent of granite type or late-stage fractionation.
  • Higher U/Pb and Th/Pb signatures occur where gravity anomalies, topographic elevation, and crust–mantle boundary depth indicate thicker crust.
  • Whole rock depth proxies (Sr/Y and Eu anomalies) correlate inversely with lead isotopes, linking melt extraction depth to the observed isotope fingerprints.

Datta, P., Liebmann, J., Kirkland, C.L., Ware, B. & Mole, D.R. (2025). Lead isotopes track intracrustal fractionation with implications for crustal thickness. Lithos, 506–507, 108017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2025.108017.

Geochemistry

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Pb Isotope Geochemistry
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A tectonic time machine to power future discoveries

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  • A full plate history reconstruction from 2000 to 540 million years ago reveals a coherent global model of continent movements during key mineral-forming events.
  • The model integrates supercontinent cycles (Nuna, Rodinia, Pangaea) and evaluates alternative assembly scenarios, tying them to large igneous province (LIP) episodes and other geological constraints.
  • The reconstruction was validated with global geological datasets, establishing a basis for resource and Earth system applications through deep time.

Li, Z.-X., Liu, Y. & Ernst, R. (2024). A dynamic 2000—540 Ma Earth history: From cratonic amalgamation to the age of supercontinent cycle. Earth-Science Reviews, 238, 104336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2023.104336.

Magnetism and Palaeomagnetism
Resource Geoscience
Geoinformatics and Geocomputing

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Magnetic Remanence Analysis
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